Icelandic Vikings

History

The Icelandic history preserves many interesting sagas about the vikings who are said to have settled the country from the Norse kingdom of mainland Europe in the 8th century.

In the ancient Icelandic language the word “viking” translates to “pirate, a man who conducts sea warfare” which indicates that those people may not have been very friendly. Most of the Icelandic sagas also include ruthless stories about people killing each other.

Let’s take a brief look at the history of the Icelandic vikings in the following video.

Archeology

Archaeologists in Iceland have excavated many archaeological things such as weapons, and other artifacts which they trace back to the Viking age. If you’re interested you can see most of them by visiting the National Museum of Iceland which is located in Reykjavík.

From the National Museum of Iceland. Photos by TripAdvisor.

Most of the people in the Viking age lived in turf houses which are still standing today in multiple places in the country, some of them have been under constant monitoring and maintenance to preserve the culture of ancient times.

The house which Erik the Red lived at, Eiríksstaður in Haukadalur in the Dalasýsla region of Iceland. It was the birthplace of his son Leifur Eiríksson, the first known European discoverer of the Americas. Photo by TripAdvisor.

Entertainment

In Iceland, you can find many different entertainment activities related to the Viking age like the restaurant Fjörukráin or Viking Village, where the theme of the place is the Viking age. It’s located at Hafnarfjörður, there you can enjoy modern food while getting entertained by the waiters who sing ancient folk songs.

The restaurant Fjörukráin at Hafnarfjörður. Photo by VikingVillage.

Theatre is also actively creating shows about the Icelandic viking sagas where they are performed as a comedy act. Like the show Icelandic sagas which is performed regularly throughout the year at the venue Harpa.